Monthly Archive

Another wicked find from etsy.com. Take a look at these cute wall clocks from Decoylab, all the way over in Kansas City. I don’t notmally dig this kind of product, but i’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say how sweet these are!!!! Check out the Decoylab website on etsy too, to see more of her products – calendars, prints, posters etc… A really nice style of work!

Hanna Melin is one of my favourite illustrators. Her work can be seen not only adorning a wide variety of regular newspapers and magazines, but also on canvas bags, tea-towels, teapots, mugs, plates and ceramic tiles. Oh – and t-shirts too..and the odd music video and TV commercial!! Blimey!

Hanna was born in Sweden but moved to England in 1998 to study a Foundation course at Kent institute of Art and Design, a Ba Illustration at Brighton university and an MA Communication at the Royal College of Art.

ke: If you had to choose, which would be your favourite piece or commission that you have worked upon?

hm:I really like the image I did for the Chicago post (below). They wanted me to illustrate “when do you need a life coach?”…It was a hard subject, but I think I managed to catch like a “film still” in my illustration. ..

ke:Who would you say are (or have been) your biggest inspirations for your illustration work?

ke: I always find it fascinating to see peoples’ working space..wether it be their studios or bedrooms, kitchens, garages.. or a tiny space on their living room floor! Please could you describe your working space, to give us a sense of where and how you work?

hm:A desk in a studio. I have lot of boxes everywhere containing bags and other stock for markets I do at Christmas time. They annoy me a bit. It’s a bit like working in a stock room. !

ke:How difficult has it been for you to establish yourself as an artist?

hm:I think it’s still hard.. I think this career is always about reinventing yourself. I keep drawing and contacting people, but what I feel now is how much I have learnt and know about my style and what I can do.

ke: What advice would you give to anyone starting out in a similar field?

hm:Get to know your style. If you want to do commercial work, allow your work to be commercial.

ke:And finally…what are your aspirations for the future?!

hm:More products, I want to do something in cork!

ke: Thanks so much Hanna! x

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Check out just some of Hanna’s designs below! Go direct to Hanna’s website to see more or to contact Hanna to discuss any personal commissions!

‘My beautiful backside’ is a seating collection launched last year by Doshi Levien – a London based design office led by Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi.. This range was uniquely inspired by a miniature painting of a Maharani sitting on the floor of her palace, surrounded and supported by multiples of pebble shaped cushions (see below!). It is absolutely gorgeous, and I love their inspiration for this design!

Nipa and Jonathan bring together two distinct and complementary approaches to their work. While Nipa’s work is strongly influenced by Indian visual and material culture, Jonathan’s approach is rooted in design for industrial production. Together, their work celebrates the cultural hybrid and explores the synthesis between technology, story telling, industrial design and craftsmanship.

These photographs, by award-winning German photographer Jan Von Holleben, are just so funny!! And clever!!

These aerial photographs, from his ‘Dreams of Flying’ collection, bring together the concepts of ‘playing’ and ‘childhood’ – which Holleben explored at length as part of his teacher training course. Holleben worked with children from his local neighbourhood in South West Germany to create these brilliant scenes, which cannot help but make you smile.

This work brings together the influences of Holleben’s parents – a cinematographer and child therapist – with his personal experience and childhood memories. Inspired by classic childhood books as well as modern superheroes, he produced ‘Dreams of Flying’ back in 2002, and is still ongoing today!

I think the Ghostbusters piece has to be my favourite!! But go to his website and check out King Kong!!!

I just wanted to share with you the lovely textile and embroidery work of artist Maxine Sutton. I think her work is absolutely beautiful….she combines hand and machine embroidery, screen printing, and appliqué techniques, to create really gorgeous, simple, fresh canvases and textile pieces. Her semi-abstracted pieces bring together themes of everyday familiar objects, the ‘home’ and our interaction with our environment.

Maxine uses a mixture of natural organics such as cotton, hemp, linen and wool with found, recycled & vintage materials. Her work has been shown at the Geffrye Museum, London, the Brighton Art Fair, Craft Central and The Crafts Council, England.

You can purchase one of your very own canvases from loop’sonline knitting & yarn shop! loop is a fantastic boutique selling the most beautiful things made by designers that use knit, crochet or felt from the UK, Holland, Japan, France, Denmark and New York. Go to http://loop.gb.com to find out more!

The Heidelberg Project, bearing the name of the street on which it exists, was started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton. Tyree was raised on Heidelberg Street and, at the age of 12, witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riots – from which he claims the City of Detroit never recovered. Armed with a paintbrush, a broom, and neighborhood children, Guyton, began cleaning up vacant lots on Heidelberg and Elba Streets. From the refuse collected, Guyton began to transform the street into a massive art environment. Vacant lots literally became “lots of art” and abandoned houses became “gigantic art sculptures.”

This house is part of the Project…and I just wanted to share this image with you. It makes me want to go home and cover my own front door with numbers (though the post man might get a bit confused if I did)…or letters..or anything! But it looks wicked! It makes me wonder what the inside of the house is like..is it just as wonderful..?

The Heidelberg Project continues to exist, evolve, and grow – providing hope and inspiration to the local community and the community of the world.

The world of etsy.com truly is a wonderful place! It allows us to discover gorgeous little treats like Laundrypop, and Laundrypop’s Sake bottle sets below!

Seriously…these are lovely. With fab prices too! Yes – you would have to take into account the post and package cost, as Laundrypop is based in San Francisco..but the beauty of etsy is that it is straight-forward and hassle-free…and the postage isn’t really much extra! Definitely worth it! But you have to act fast, as much of what is for sale on etsy are originals or limited in numbers…so get searching!

Take a look at the jewellery and ceramic-ware of Lorena Barrezueta..Her work is sooooo good! She has developed two lines – her ‘Listen Lady Jewelry’ and her ‘Gourmet Selection Dinnerware’… Personal favourites are the watch bangles below..they are wicked! VERY cool. And the colours are lovely too…the mint and pale orange and lemon etc…Really nice contrast with the chunky masculinity of the watch faces…Mmmmmmmmmmm…..!!!

But do check out her ceramic-ware too as it really is lovely and the colours – again – are just gorgeous! Lorena is constantly developing and expanding her ranges, and so great to keep re-visiting for sure!

Lush Designs really are true to their name, offering lovely lush prints on a diverse range of gorgeous homewares. Their range includes some really beautiful pillow cases (ideal as a gift for couples!) tea-towels, aprons and lampshades (check their website for these!). The tea-towels are almost too good to use!

Lush Designs have also launched their Beast Wishes greeting card range…and the colour combinations are just fab! Really vibrant and quirky!!

As well as their online store, Lush Designs have a studio at Cockpit Arts in Deptford, South London, and they exhibit their designs at various craft fairs throughout the year….so be sure to pay them a visit!

The work of John Murphy is excellent…we absolutely love it! Please check out the limited edition prints below…are they not lovely?!!! Not only are they fab, but they are extremely reasonably priced too – ranging from $35 to $65 (before postage) depending on the edition quantity.

Alongside his collage and line works, Murphy is also an award-winning photographer, and offers his work as open editions, limited editions and one-of-a-kinds. Check out his website for examples of his photographic work…the colour is amazing and they are equally as lovely as his collage pieces!

Over the past 10 years, John Murphy has worked as an artist, a curator and a designer, and has maintained a working studio that bridges the gap between fine art and commercial design practices. His work is included in both public and private collections throughout the United States and abroad..

I was fortunate to receive one of his prints below as a recent birthday present…and am tempted to now get another! But I want them all! How to choose!!!???